[applekidjosh]

What have you played? What are you playing? What are you looking forward to?


I've played Kana: Little Sister, Tsukihime, Kagetsu Tohya, Fate/Stay Night, Umineko no Naku Koro ni (and episode 5 of Chiru), Ever17, Saya no Uta, and Yume Miru Kusuri. I've also played Sengoku Rance and Battle Moon Wars, though they're straying a bit from traditional VNs.


I'm counting the days til Umineko ep6 translation hits, Witch-Hunt is taking their sweet time but I guess a group from gamefaqs:OT will have it out by the end of June? I'm not sure if I can betray the Witch-Hunt that's treated me so well for so long!

Other than that I want to play Cross Channel sometime soon.

[kenkendazo]

I play ones in Japanese:
Fate/ staynight
Gift
Suigetsu

and a few more but I'm too lazy to check right now. I love VN's ~^__^~

I've also done limited translations for Gift and Suigetsu, but since I don't know how to create patches, they just sit on my harddrive.

I'd also say Tears to Tiara, but that one is about 50/50 VN/SRPG.

This post has been edited by Suigetsu: 23 June 2010 - 10:15 AM

[applekidjosh]

if you can read Japanese you should play Fate/Hollow Ataraxia! The guy doing the translation is taking "slow and steady" to a whole new level.

[kenkendazo]

Though I've been slowly playing Fate, I don't think I want to complete all parts. Though I would enjoy Unlimited Blade Works, there's a scene I don't think I can handle.

[applekidjosh]

...? What about UBW or anything in F/SN could you not handle?

[kenkendazo]

applekidjosh, on 23 June 2010 - 10:42 AM, said:

...? What about UBW or anything in F/SN could you not handle?

Spoiler

The whole Illya death scene. I'm not strong in that kind of area. Even thinking about it makes me need to sit down for awhile ^^;;

[Jeff]

Brass restoration. It's about a boy that loves to play the drums, then loses his arm when he falls onto some train tracks. Then there are four females to court. It seems the purple haired one is the one the game primarily intend for you. It has the most story and most conclussive...conclusion. It's a good story and you can skip things you've already seen so you can get the other stories faster.

[kenkendazo]

Oh yes, I also have White Album, an old one, but I downloaded it incorrectly so no BG< plays so I should reinstall it sometime.

[applekidjosh]

Suigetsu, on 23 June 2010 - 10:46 AM, said:

Spoiler

The whole Illya death scene. I'm not strong in that kind of area. Even thinking about it makes me need to sit down for awhile ^^;;

oh, huh. So is it gore or death that you have a problem with? I mean yeah that scene is incredibly sad (I'm a huge fan of her) but I've never heard of anyone having problems with it.

[kenkendazo]

I dislike graphic violence. For some reason I sometimes faint at such items depending on my mood...it really pisses me off some times

Deaths are incredibly sad, but I can deal with that, its just the way it was brought about. I want to see the UBW film, but I do not want to see that scene acted out :/

[kenkendazo]

Oh, did anyone else hear about the Disgaea VN? I believe its for the PSP. I just don't know about it...I like that series for its ridiculous leveling up system, albeit the games do have good stories.

[applekidjosh]

It's short, only a few hours for each route. Funny if you like the Disgaea humor and charm. Not worth the full price tag.

[kenkendazo]

Have any of you ever thought about making your own? Enterbrain makes a good program Ren-Ai Tsukuru (I believe that's the title) that lets you easily make your own. The only problem is I don't think there are English patches available and it takes some McGuyvering to get it to work on an English OS.

[applekidjosh]

Well programming a VN in Ren'py is apparently not very difficult. I have friends that have worked on them. But it's a lot, lot, LOT of work for a labor of love you won't get paid for. You also need to either be talented with music composition / art / story / general programming / site maintenance, or else outsource some of the work.

[TaiyakiOni]

I've played a good amount of VN's;

Fate/Stay Night
Majipuri Wonder Cradle
Ai Yori Aoshi
Hourglass of Summer
Twintail
Saya no Uta
Kanon
Catgirl Alliance
Jiburiru the Devil Angel
Popotan
Phantom of the Inferno

I think that's most of the one's I've played...

This post has been edited by TaiyakiOni: 23 June 2010 - 01:49 PM

[applekidjosh]

How is Popotan? It's got that incredibly cute and catchy OP so I've always wanted to give it a shot. How come you've played F/SN but not the other Type Moon VNs?

If you've seen the Kanon anime as well, did you prefer VN or anime?

[TaiyakiOni]

applekidjosh, on 24 June 2010 - 03:37 PM, said:

How is Popotan? It's got that incredibly cute and catchy OP so I've always wanted to give it a shot. How come you've played F/SN but not the other Type Moon VNs?

If you've seen the Kanon anime as well, did you prefer VN or anime?

I haven't played other Type Moon vn's yet but I have mastered kicking butt on Melty Blood >D ...as well as watching Tsukihime ( which was Ok...not great, but ok ).

I am actually in the middle of starting Unlimited Blade Works and then afterwards I'll get to play Heaven's Feel ( which is the one I really want to play! ).

Popotan is adorable, but its a H Visual Novel so you have to be ok with the H aspects. It's decent though the story doesn't have much difficulty or complexity to it. It's cute, that's it's redeeming quality.

I am the grand master of Kanon! ( hugs his VN, 2002 anime discs and 2006 anime boxset, Kanon manga and Ayu figure ). To be honest...I love them all. The VN has some H scenes in it that don't really add or detract anything from the story. I have to say I like the VN and the 2006 version of Kanon both fairly evenly. If you like Kanon, you have to play the VN in it's original form.

[applekidjosh]

Oh gosh please understand that there's a reason the meme "Tsukihime anime doesn't exist" is around for a reason. The VN is astronomically better. I think UBW > Heavens Feel > Fate. HF has some amazing fights in it but Rin >>> Sakura for me so the choice is obvious!

The vast majority of VNs I've played have BEEN H games, and Saya no Uta and Kagetsu Tohya even have the Loli H going on, so that's certainly not a detraction for me.

I'll add Kanon to my "plan to play" list. I saw there was a CG of Mai and Saiyuri so that was one of the deciding factors! hahaha. My Kanon rankings are Ayu > Nayuki > Makoto > Shiori > Mai. I liked Saiyuri way more than Mai in Mai's own section so that really hurt her.

[TaiyakiOni]

I love Ayu and she is my most beloved character of the Kanon series, I wish I had a girlfriend who would cosplay as Ayu ( For various "reasons" ). Ayu is easily one of my top five favorite anime characters. I would kill people for an Ayu plushie... >.> -hides the murder weapon-

Ayu>>>>>>>>>>>Makoto>Shiori>Mai>Nayuki

I really just don't like Nayuki very much...though I share her love for Strawberry Jam and the inability to get up in the morning...

Honestly my favorite character in Fate Stay Night is Ilyasviel. I love how she is so innocent and care free but also has that unrestricted cruelty that children can also have. For me it's Ilya>Rin>Taiga>Saber>Sakura. I am a Taiga fan as well...her character and character design just somehow clicks with me.

I am more interested in Heaven's Feel than I am in Unlimited Blade Works since I already am more familiar with the UBW story line so the Heaven's Feel story which I am not familiar with appeals to me more. We'll see which one I like more when I am done with both.

A majority of VN's have H content in it so it's hard to find some really good ones without any in it. I actually really enjoyed Majipuri Wonder Cradle and Jiburiru the Devil Angel which are both H Vn's.

Sadly Phantom of the Inferno is a VN that had H scenes in the original Japanese version but when it was brought over to America they cut the H scenes out...

[applekidjosh]

Ilya is a close second favorite for me too, and her role in Heavens Feel is by far my favorite part of it! Well, that and one "bad end" that so epic and amazing the game doesn't even say "bad" when you get it ;D

I haven't heard of Majipuri or Jiburiru, or twintail or hourglass of summer or catgirl alliance or phantom of the inferno! Are all of these in English?

[TaiyakiOni]

applekidjosh, on 24 June 2010 - 08:08 PM, said:

Ilya is a close second favorite for me too, and her role in Heavens Feel is by far my favorite part of it! Well, that and one "bad end" that so epic and amazing the game doesn't even say "bad" when you get it ;D

I haven't heard of Majipuri or Jiburiru, or twintail or hourglass of summer or catgirl alliance or phantom of the inferno! Are all of these in English?

Majipuri, Twintail and Jiburiru to my knowledge are not in english yet, but the Jiburiru Hentai is available, both of the first two seasons in fact. Hourglass of Summer is available in english if you buy the Hirameki version online which is a DVD Visual Novel, and Phantom of the Inferno is also in english. Cat Girl Alliance can be found online in english.

I am looking forward to Ilya's role in Heaven's Feel, that's a big reason I want to play it as soon as possible after UBW.

[dorkatlarge]

I purchased Disgaea Infinite, and I've made some progress. I'm enjoying it so far, though I don't get some of the jokes. (Some years ago, I played the first Disgaea game for PS2. While I liked the writing, I didn't enjoy the basic gameplay, so I left it unfinished. So even if Disgaea Infinite ends up being pretty short, at least there's a good chance I might finish it.)

applekidjosh, on 23 June 2010 - 11:33 AM, said:

Well programming a VN in Ren'py is apparently not very difficult. I have friends that have worked on them. But it's a lot, lot, LOT of work for a labor of love you won't get paid for. You also need to either be talented with music composition / art / story / general programming / site maintenance, or else outsource some of the work.

Many of the people on the Lemma Soft forums who create freeware visual novels use art, music, and tools that have been designated "free-to-use." (Relevant, worksafe thread: http://lemmasoft.ren...c.php?f=4&t=445 ) This is considered acceptable, especially for people who are creating their first or second projects. If you are primarily a writer, and/or if you don't have a group of people willing to collaborate on a project, then it's a good idea to build on what other people have created.

That said, it's probably obvious by now that I'm a fanboy in the visual novel community. My interests began some years ago with True Love 95 and Season of the Sakura. When I noticed around 2005 that some of my fellow English speaking fans were creating their own VNs, that's when became a dedicated fan. As of this writing, I still don't play untranslated games, but instead focus on material that's been translated in some form, or originally written in English. I've purchased and enjoyed a few professionally translated H games recently. But here's what I've liked, and dedicated more time to, in the last few months:

- "RE: Alistair," a freeware dating simulation, created by only three people. It's a reverse harem game aimed at a female audience (the term used by fans is "otome games"). It's available at http://www.sakevisua...tair/index.html While the gameplay is not as complex as Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side, it's well written and designed, and since there is no official Tokimemo translations, this is an acceptable substitute.

- "Mail Order Bride," a free visual novel created by IonicMomo. The creator took the time to develop realistic, time-period-appropriate art and music for this story. http://www.renai.us/...der-bride.shtml

- "Ren'ai Shugi: Road to Emerald," which is a visual novel only for iPhone/iPod Touch. It cost about $2, so I can't complain too much about the poor grammar and typos. Basically it's Wizard of Oz: the otome game. http://itunes.apple....d357462526?mt=8

[applekidjosh]

speaking of iPod, I've heard of people that got Tsukihime and Umineko working on ipod touches and iphones. That would be pretty awesome.

[TaiyakiOni]

I just finished Fate Stay Night in it's entirety including all the extra stuff like the Tiger Dojo stickers and what not. Got to say, I am always sad at the end of a Visual Novel because now I have so much free time until I find my next fix...

[applekidjosh]

TaiyakiOni, on 30 June 2010 - 12:33 AM, said:

I just finished Fate Stay Night in it's entirety including all the extra stuff like the Tiger Dojo stickers and what not. Got to say, I am always sad at the end of a Visual Novel because now I have so much free time until I find my next fix...

Give us rankings! Rank the routes, rank the characters, rank the love interests, and rank the endings including

Spoiler

the Shirou vs Saber Alter BADASS end

[TaiyakiOni]

applekidjosh, on 30 June 2010 - 09:50 AM, said:

Give us rankings! Rank the routes, rank the characters, rank the love interests, and rank the endings including

Spoiler

the Shirou vs Saber Alter BADASS end

Fine fine, then here are rankings from most to least favorite.

Routes: Heaven's Feel > Unlimited Blade Works > Fate

Characters: Rin & Sakura > Ilyasviel > Saber > Taiga > Everyone else

Love Interests: Sakura > Rin > Saber

Endings: Unlimited Blade Works True Ending > Heaven's Feel True Ending > Unlimited Blade Works Good Ending > Fate Ending > Heaven's Feel Normal Ending > Heaven's Feel Limit Breaker Conclusion

I have to say my favorite route overall was Heaven's Feel merely because of how dark it was. It was very dark and really liked to pour on the despair during the game.

[applekidjosh]

ugh you're one of those (a Sakura fan). We are mortal enemies!

[TaiyakiOni]

Indeed...I am also mortal enemies with one of my friends who is a Saber fan...but that's because I tease him about his obsession with Saber all the time >D

I liked Sakura more because I am not a big fan of the Tsundere personality so though I find her character to be pleasing and fun I am turned off by her inability to be openly honest about her emotions and that just turned me off.

Tsundere's don't like other Tsundere's

Plus for some reason I am intrigued by broken people and let's face it...Sakura is broken beyond belief

[applekidjosh]

Rin is the perfect tsundere for me :3

Saber is... deredere pretty much. Hungrydere maybe. She's only dere or hungry or in battle mode.

but yeah if you're the "fixer" kinda person Sakura's all yours. I also like Ilya a lot, and she was cool as the main character of the Prism Ilya magical girl manga.

[TaiyakiOni]

I guess I am a "fixer" type person? Though if put into anime terms I am a mild tsundere clumsy forgetful type who happens to be good at house work ( Cooking and cleaning ). ...I'm the woman of the house and yet I am a man D:

I don't go looking for broken people, they just always seem to find me and be interested in me. I need like a new spray that repels people who are broken.

Ilya was a great character who I am sad is never really a "main" character but she was most important in the Heaven's Feel story arc which was nice.

My next visual novel I'll play will probably be Suigetsu which I will probably get from Suigetsu sometime around the 10th.